Race News

23 October 2017

It was an expensive day in the title fight for Dovizioso at Phillip Island. Luckily for viewers, it was an all-time great of a race. And maybe more expensive for the people now repairing the leathers, boots and fairings that bear the scars of another incredible Island battle...

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16 October 2017

If Misano was Marquez showing he would walk whatever tightrope was necessary, Motegi was Dovizioso’s reply. Has there ever been anything quite like that with a title on the line?

Of course, in season finales, there is no “but the risk…” because the maths end at the flag. But beyond Motegi lie 75 points up for grabs, and yet we raced in the rain like it was the last laps of Valencia under sunny skies. Well, two people did. And what a race...

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25 September 2017

Taking it to the limit is Marc Marquez’ modus operandi, but at MotorLand the reigning Champion took it up a notch. Not getting the best start but far from the worst, the Honda rider had a few targets ahead of him on track if he wanted to take the win after crashing in qualifying – and to take the win he most definitely wanted.

11 September 2017

The weather forecast was right for race day at Misano and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The stakes for the three men on the front row – Viñales, Dovizioso and Marquez – were high, and one mistake, however small, could cost a title. As it turned out, no one made any and it’s even tighter at the top – equal, even. But whilst nobody lost, somebody definitely won...

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29 August 2017

Dovizioso has been saying it all year, and Silverstone was a reminder it’s true.

It’s true that every race of 2017 so far has told a different story, but it’s also true that there have been some consistent protagonists. Marc Marquez is one, with consistency that Yamaha have been dreaming of, and Silverstone was a great reminder that it’s not just pace, tyres and the weather that can affect the championship - it’s also the bikes...

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14 August 2017

MotoGP has been great this year. Austria wasn’t great, though. Austria was the best race of the year so far, one of the best in living memory and an immediate classic. Absolutely stunning. So good, there aren’t that many words capable of explaining how good it was. Just watch it. It’s one for the history books.

On paper, the winner of the Austrian GP isn’t a surprise. But with no winglets, a lot of changes since last year and the up-and-down nature of this season, it’s still a bit of a surprise – because it went to script, for the winner at least. Much like Marquez winning in Germany “as expected”, Dovizioso’s name was penciled in next to Austria. But it wasn’t quite like 2016...

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07 August 2017

The reigning Champion’s Brno win was a thing of beauty – so how did he do it?

It’s always a time of tense indecision on the grid before a race in which the weather is threatening, and the Czech GP was certainly no different. Declared wet but with the weather clearing, it spelled out a good case for a flag to flag. That’s MotoGP speak for “a terribly tempting chance to play with risk and reward”...

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04 July 2017

Time for summer break with the fight closer than ever – and another rookie showing their hand.

Marquez and Pedrosa had great weekends in Germany, with both showing great pace and taking front row starts to the podium. Marquez took his eighth win in a row at the track – a run that started in the 125 World Championship – and did it from pole once again. But with Sachsenring, that’s what you’d expect. What you wouldn’t expect is the home rookie on an independent team Yamaha pushing the man who has made the track his own – so don’t worry, we’ve not lost that spark...

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27 June 2017

The eighth round of the Motorcycle Grand Prix took us to the venerated Dutch TT in Assen, where The Cathedral has remained a fixture since the world championship began in 1949. A track drenched in history, also saw itself drenched in another sort of thing for this weekend, with rain falling in the practice and qualifying sessions, only stopping an hour before a fully wet MotoGP warm up...

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14 June 2017

You wait seven years for a win, and then three of them come along at once. Sepang last year may now be last season, but it’s only nine races ago – meaning Andrea Dovizioso has now won a third of the races since the lights went out in Malaysia. That’s the same as Maverick Viñales, the man who has stolen a lot more headlines. That’s a little crazy...